Framingham Fire Department was able to extinquish a fire quickly at Masjid E Basheer Thursday night, but the damage will cancel classes and activities and close the religious building for a short period of time.

Framingham Fire Marshal Joseph Hicks said the fire started in the rear of the building in the kitchen area.

"One of the members of church located the fire and attempted to put it out with a fire extinguisher but the fire grew too quickly. They evacuated the building and called 911," said Hicks.

When Framingham Fire crews arrived, they found heavy smoke and fire in the rear of the building," said Hicks. "Thankfully, between the fire alarm system working and the quick action of the firefighters there is limited damage to the structure and they will be able to renovate and move back into building."

It is estimated there is $40,000 worth of damage. Fire and water damage was confined to the the kitchen area, but there is smoke damage throughout the building.

Masjid's kitchen area suffered extensive damage, according to the Islamic Society of Framingham's web site.

"The immediate fallout of this incident is, that our Masjid is out of commission. This means, normal Masjid Activities (such as Regular Salah, Jumuah Salah, and Quran classes etc) cannot be conducted, until the place is renovated and necessary permissions are obtained from town authorities. This incident, unfortunately puts serious constraints on community activities and we are exploring options to restore normal activities at the earliest," according to the web site.

A temporary arrangement has been made at 17-19 Concord St. for prayers today, Sept. 7. The society is exploring other alternatives for future days, until the Masjid is restored.

The Masjid's community barbecue scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled.

Classes at the Al-Falah Islamic School are cancelled until further notice.

The Masjid is located at 234 Union Ave, in the former Friendly's Restaurant building. It is Muslim place of worship for Framingham's Islamic community. Operating under the umbrella of Islamic Society of Framingham, Masjid E Basheer conducts regular Muslim prayer sessions five times a day.